For me, it's because I am disappointed by it.
1. The gears are silly. They make the show less believable, they are "used" only to make Joe a bigger underdog, and the machine vs human element is not used.
2. The setting is not used. Old Joe used where and when it was, this one could be set everywhere and everywhen and it would be the same.
Where are the towers that oppresses the poor masses who have to scramble through the junk to survive? Look at this for fuck sake
https://geeksnipper.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Screen-Shot-2018-04-06-at-6.15.38-PM.pngClear sky, clear road. It's not oppressive.
There is also some "rich people have technology more advanced than poor people" with Yuri but it doesn't work because, again, the gear seem pointless.
And here, look at how green and nice this is.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbuwX5xVMAEL0yN.jpg This is not ok for a sci-fi story about poor people trying to reach the top of the tower.
3. Following 2, there is no real depth here. This is simply a sports anime. They not criticizing rich people who watch young men kill themselves on the ring and they are not criticizing young men who kill themselves.
4. It's not an interesting sports anime. We don't feel the desperation in Joe, how much he wins. I suppose him not using the gear should do this, but it doesn't work, at least for me. We want Joe to win and we don't care about the other guy losing, which is a massive mistake to make in a sports anime. We should feel bad that someone lost and also happy because Joe won.
This scene here, where the kids play basketball while Joe and the legless guy are talking, shows exactly the problem with this anime. They tried to do something cool, but they made a mistake. You should never reduce the sport to a game in a sport anime. The sport event should be deadly serious.
